Compact protocol and solution for substantially offline messaging between portable consumer device and based device

ABSTRACT

A method for providing messaging between a portable device and base device is provided. The method included communicating one or more message codes maintained in the portable device to the base device. The base device then composes a message for a user of the portable device using a dictionary of message codes. The message codes have corresponding message values, which are used to generate the message for the one or more message codes. The generated message is then provided to the user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention generally relates to communications betweena portable device and a base device. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to a method and system for providing storage anddisplay of transactional messages using message codes communicated froma portable device to a base device.

[0002] With the continuing demand for using information to provideenhanced consumer experience, base devices and portable devices may beleveraged to provide a personalized experience for a consumer during apurchase transaction at a merchant. For example, a loyalty program maybe provided where consumers are awarded incentives for shopping atcertain merchants that participate in the loyalty program. As part ofthe loyalty program, merchants can use portable devices, such assmartcards, and/or base devices, such as point-of-sale (POS) devices, tokeep track of the activities of various consumers and accordingly offertargeted advertising and sale offers to such consumers. As a result, theuse of a loyalty program is a powerful tool that may increase consumerloyalty by giving consumers added incentive to continue shopping atmerchants participating in the loyalty program.

[0003] The effectiveness of the loyalty program may be affected by theability to communicate with the consumer during the transaction. Thus,in order to more fully increase the effectiveness of the loyaltyprogram, information relating to a consumer's participation in theloyalty program needs to be communicated to the consumer in a fast andefficient manner, preferably, at the point-of-sale. Typically, suchinformation is conveyed to a consumer in the form of messages displayedvia a base device. Since the duration of a point-of-sale transaction isrelatively short and a consumer typically does not want to wait for amessage about a loyalty transaction for an extended period of time,messages intended for the consumer involved in a loyalty transactionneed to be rapidly created and provided to the consumer. The longer ittakes to create a message, the greater the chances that the consumer maywant to skip or discontinue participating in a loyalty program due tothe wait time.

[0004] Some solutions have been proposed to create messages for displayto consumers participating in loyalty programs in an expedited manner.Typical solutions involve, for example, providing consumers with genericmessages that were set by software or other mechanisms. These genericmessages are generally fixed/predefined and cannot be vared. Also, themessages are not directly linked to the activities of a specificconsumer. Consequently, these messages are not very effective becausethey are not personalized for the consumer and thus are not particularlyinformative with respect to the consumer's specific status in theloyalty program. Additionally, if messages are composed using variousdatabases residing on different servers distributed throughout theInternet, the time to compose messages increases, which furtherdecreases the value of providing messages to consumers.

[0005] Furthermore, if messages are provided at all, the messages aretypically derived from content stored in the base device because storagespace and data access may be limited on the smartcard or portabledevice. Accordingly, existing messaging methods are relativelyinflexible and do not fully use the advantages of providing a loyaltyprogram.

[0006] Hence, it would be desirable to provide a system that is capableof providing messages to a consumer in an efficient and expedited mannerduring a purchase transaction, thereby allowing loyalty transactioninformation to be displayed at the point-of-sale.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, a method forproviding messaging between a portable device and base device isprovided. The method includes communicating one or more message codesmaintained in the portable device to the base device. The base devicethen composes a message for a user of the portable device using adictionary of message codes. The message codes have correspondingmessage values, which are used to generate the message for the one ormore message codes. The generated message is then provided to the user.

[0008] In one embodiment, a system for generating a message for a userof a portable device is provided. The system comprises: a base deviceconfigured to receive one or more message codes from the portabledevice; a dictionary having a plurality of message codes associated withthe base device, wherein the plurality of message codes correspond to aplurality of message words; a composer configured to compose the messagefrom the received one or more message codes using corresponding messagewords from the dictionary; and an interface device configured to providethe composed message to the user.

[0009] In another embodiment, a method for composing a message at a basedevice for a user of a portable device using a dictionary of messagecodes is provided. The message codes having corresponding messagevalues. The method comprises: receiving one or more message codes at thebase device from the portable device; generating the message from thereceived one or more message codes using corresponding message valuesfrom the dictionary; and providing the generated message to the user.

[0010] Reference to the remaining portions of the specification,including the drawings and claims, will realize other features andadvantages of the present invention. Further features and advantages ofthe present invention, as well as the structure and operation of variousembodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below withrespect to accompanying drawings, like reference numbers indicateidentical or functionally similar elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a system forcomposing a message according to one exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a table showing a sample list of message codes and theircorresponding values in a dictionary according to one exemplaryembodiment of the present invention; and

[0013]FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process forcomposing and providing a message according to one exemplary embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention in the form of one or more exemplaryembodiments will now be described. FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 forcomposing a message according to one exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. System 100 includes a portable device 102, a base device 104,a dictionary 106, a composer 108, and an interface device 110.

[0015] Portable device 102 is a device that interfaces with base device104. For example, portable device 102 may be a smartcard, cellularphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), pager, credit card, ATM card,digital tablet, security badge, access badge, and the like. Information,such as a message code string, is included on portable device 102 andmay be read from portable device 102 or communicated to base device 104.Examples of information including message code strings will be describedbelow.

[0016] Base device 104 is a device that interacts with portable device102. Examples of base devices 104 include a point-of-sale (POS) device,cellular phone, PDA, computer, handheld specialized readers (e.g.,smartcard key tabs), set-top boxes connected to a TV, kiosks, securitysystem, access system, and the like. Base device 104 is configured tocommunicate with portable device 102 and more specifically to receive amessage code string from portable device 102.

[0017] Base device 104 and portable device 102 may interact directlywith one another. For example, portable device 102 and base device 104may directly communicate through a direct connection. In this example,if portable device 102 is a smartcard and base device 104 is a POSdevice, the smartcard may be directly inserted into the POS device.Alternatively, portable device 102 and base device 104 may communicatethrough a communication medium, such as a wireless connection, wirelineconnection, the Internet, etc. Further, the communication may be throughan intermediate computing or networking device that facilitates thecommunication. For example, a smartcard may communicate with amobile-commerce server via a cell phone. In this case, a smartcard maybe inserted into the cellular phone with the cellular phonecommunicating with the mobile-commerce server through a wireless orinfrared (IR) connection. Additionally, a smartcard may be inserted intoa PDA with the PDA communicating with the mobile-commerce server. Itshould be noted that the communication methods described above are forillustration purposes only and that a person of ordinary skill in theart will appreciate other methods that can be used to achievecommunications between portable device 102 and base device 104. In oneembodiment, communications between portable device 102 and base device104 may be performed offline. In one embodiment, offline is wheremessaging is performed between portable device 102 and base device 104where base device 104 is not connected to a network, such as theInternet.

[0018] It should also be noted that a device may alternately play therole of portable device 102 or base device 104 depending on theapplication under which the device is being used. For example, acellular phone may function as base device 104 to receive or interfacewith a smartcard via a contact reader, the smartcard being the portabledevice 102 in this application; subsequently, the same cellular phonemay function as portable device 102 to interface with a POS device viaan RF, infrared, and/or bluetooth interface, the POS device being thebase device 104 in this second application.

[0019] Dictionary database 106 may include one or more dictionaries, forexample, dictionaries 124 a,b. Each dictionary 124 a,b is a database ofmessage codes and their corresponding values or meanings. Dictionarydatabase 106 may be embedded in base device 104. Also, dictionarydatabase 106 may be separate from base device 104 and accessible througha communication medium. For example, dictionary database 106 may belocalized in relation to base device 104 and accessible through anetwork, such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN),wireless network, wireline network, the Internet, and the like. Also,parts of dictionaries 124 a,b may be distributed among differentdevices. For example, part of dictionary 124 a may be located in basedevice 104 and part in dictionary database 106.

[0020] In one exemplary embodiment, each dictionary 124 a,b may beorganized in data structures of message codes/words and their respectivemeanings. Additionally, multiple dictionaries may be accessible to basedevice 104 and different versions of dictionaries may be used by basedevice 104. As will be further described below, one or more of thedictionaries 124 a,b in the dictionary database 106 may be selected toallow a message to be composed or generated from a number of messagecodes.

[0021] Composer 108 may be software, embedded software, dedicatedhardware, or any combination thereof, that analyzes message codes andgenerates a message by retrieving the appropriate values related to themessage codes from dictionary 124 a. For illustrative purposes herein,only one dictionary 124 a is used to generate the message. Based on thedisclosure and teachings provided herein, it will be clear to a personof ordinary skill in the art that more than one dictionary may be usedto generate a message from the message codes. Composer 108 may beembedded in base device 104 or be accessible to base device 104. Oncethe message has been composed from the message codes by composer 108,composer 108 forwards the message to interface device 110. It should benoted that composer 108 may further use information from other sourcesor databases (not shown) to help compose or generate messages frommessage codes.

[0022] Interface device 110 receives the generated message from composer108 and provides the message to a user of portable device 102. Forexample, interface device 110 may display the message, print themessage, or announce the message audibly. If the message is audiblyannounced, a sound, tone, voice, or the like may be used. Additionally,any combination of methods for providing the message to the user may beused. For example, a sound and a displayed message may be used.Interface device 110 may also be part of base device 104 or be separatefrom base device 104 but coupled with base device 104. Examples ofinterface device 110 are a display screen, computer, printer, speaker,PDA, or any other device capable of providing a message to a user.

[0023] As mentioned above, message codes are included in portable device102. In one exemplary embodiment, the message codes are strings ofcharacter and/or symbols. Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a messagecode string is message code string 112. As shown in FIG. 1, message codestring 112 includes the codes “01 FF 10 A5 02 A0 03 A6 04”. Whenportable device 102 communicates with base device 104, message codestring 112 is communicated to base device 104 by either base device 104retrieving message code string 112 from portable device 102 or portabledevice 102 forwarding message code string 112 to base device 104.Message code string 112 includes a number of constituent message codes.Base device 104 then forwards the message code string 112 to composer108 for analysis. Composer 108 analyzes message code string 112 usingdictionary 124 a. In this instance, dictionary 124 a is used as adefault to analyze message code string 112; however, as previouslymentioned, one or more dictionaries, for example, dictionaries 124 a,b,may be used for this purpose. Composer 108 may be directed to select theappropriate dictionary by analyzing the message code string 112 or byfollowing instructions provided by base device 104. Composer 108assembles or decodes the message codes into message words that havesemantic value using values corresponding to the message codes indictionary 124 a. The message words collectively form a message that isto be conveyed to a user of portable device 102. Messages may includevarious types of information. For example, a message may includeinformation associated with the service being provided to the user, suchas, “100 points received, valid until Dec. 31, 2010”, “Smart Shoppingnow available at XYZ stores”, and “Welcome to the XYZ network”; and amessage may also include marketing or solicitation information, such as,“Use your reward points at participating ABC stores”.

[0024] The message codes may correspond to message words that servedifferent functions. There are different categories of message words.For example, message words may be classified as constant message words,variable message words, administrative message words, and action messagewords.

[0025] Constant message words are message words that are constant. Forexample, constant message words are words, sentences, colors, graphics,or sound sequences, such as, message code “255”=“congratulations, youare now participating in”; message code “A10F”=“three_standard_rings”;or message code “A75F”=“{HTML TAG} <TITLE>”. The message value“congratulations, you are now are participating in” represents aconstant string of words or a sentence. The message value“three_standard_rings” may indicate a constant sound sequence of threerings, and the message value “{HTML TAG} <TITLE>” may indicatedisplaying an HTML TAG of TITLE.

[0026] Variable message words refer to message words that may vary. Forexample, variable message words may provide a reference to informationcomputed during the transaction or unique information specific toportable device 102. For instance, message code“ABB0”=“remaining_value_on electronic urse”; message code“1234”=“account_number_used during_the_transaction”; or message code“DDDD”=“current_date”, where the message value“remaining_value_on_electronic_purse” may indicate the remaining valueon an electronic account related to portable device 102; the messagevalue “account_number_used_during_the_transaction” may refer to theaccount number of the user of portable device 102 that is being usedduring the transaction; and the message value “current_date” refers to avariable that includes the value of the current date.

[0027] An administrative message word is a message word that is used toaffect the analysis of the message codes. For example, administrativemessage words may indicate the bit or byte length of message words, acommand to interpret the message codes with a basic or enhanceddictionary 106, a code to identify which type of base device 104 (e.g.,POS, PC, phone, PDA, hand-held specialized readers) the message isapplicable to, a code to identify interface device 110 (display,printer) for which the message code string applies, or a version ofdictionary 106 that should be used with message code string 112.

[0028] Each dictionary 124 a,b may include fields for different modes,such as a standard mode and an enhanced mode. In one exemplaryembodiment, an administrative message code may be used to designate theselection of a particular mode depending on certain predeterminedfactors. For example, a standard mode may be used for a graphicaldisplay and an enhanced mode may be used for a printed message. Also,each dictionary 124 a,b may include a default, or implicit mode which isto be used by the composer in absence of an administrative wordidentifying the selection of a particular mode.

[0029] Action message words are used to direct base device 104 to takecorresponding actions as part of the transaction. Examples of actionmessage words include message code “XYZ”=“print_receipt_only”; messagecode“9999”=“log_message_on_base_device_for_delayed_reporting_to_service_host”;or message code “ABCD”=“update_message_string_in_card”. The messagevalue “print_receipt _only” may indicate the action of only printing areceipt using interface device 1 10, the message value“log_message_on_base_device_for delayed_reporting_to_service _host”indicates the action of logging the message on base device 104 forsubsequent reporting, and the message value“update_message_code_string_in_card” may indicate the action of sendingan updated message code string to portable device 102 to replace messagecode string 112.

[0030] Data contained in portable device 102 may not be for theexclusive use of generating consumer messages. In one exemplaryembodiment, data used by portable device 102 for purposes other thanmessaging may also be read by or transmitted to base device 104 and usedfor composing a message. For example, device information such as anapplication's ID (AID) in a smartcard may be a code string “A0 00 00 0098 10 10 04” that is typically used to identify that specific smartcardapplication; this particular code string may also be used to cause thegeneration of the message “Visa Smart Loyalty Application Version 4”when read by or transmitted to base device 104. Optionally, informationmay be entered via base device 104 and used as part of the composedmessage. For example, transactional information for a purchase, such astotal purchase price, may be entered via based device 104 and includedin the message displayed to the user.

[0031]FIG. 2 is a table 118 showing a sample list of message codes andtheir corresponding values in one dictionary 124 a according to oneexemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, table118 includes a code column 120 that includes message codes and a valuecolumn 122 that includes corresponding values for the message codes.

[0032] Message codes may be stored in a binary form, hexadecimal form,or any other standardized format that is interpretable by base device104 and/or composer 108. Based on the disclosure and teachings providedherein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will know how to usedifferent formats to store the message codes depending on the systemdesign and requirements.

[0033] In one exemplary embodiment, some of the message codes are notuniformly predefined and fixed across all dictionaries 124, but ratherare specifically identified by a dictionary associated with a particularbase device 104. In other words, the same message code does notnecessarily have the same meaning in different dictionaries 124 a,b.Accordingly, a message code stored in portable device 102 may havedifferent meanings in different base devices 104 depending on theassociated dictionary 124 a for each base device 104. For example, amessage code “1234” equals “congratulations, you have been entered intoour loyal consumer program and now have:” when base device 104 is a POSdevice, and the same message code may be interpreted as “loyal consumerpoints:” when base device 104 is a cellular phone with a small display.

[0034] Dictionary database 106 may also include multiple versions of adictionary 124 a,b. For example, base device 104 may be associated withmultiple interface devices 110 where different versions of dictionariesare used for the different interfaces. If a display and a printer areavailable, different messages may be provided to a user through thedifferent interfaces. Thus, composer 108 may compose a message from amessage code string “32 50 15 FF 0A” as “Welcome to the Smart ShoppingNetwork” on a printer interface device 110 and as a logo on aPoint-of-sale display interface device 110. In another example,different versions of dictionary 124 a,b may include versions withdifferent languages. In one exemplary embodiment, administrative messagecodes may be used to identify an appropriate dictionary version. Byusing different versions of dictionaries, different messages may becreated for different interface devices while maintaining the samemessage code at the same time, and thus simplifying data storage on theportable device.

[0035] In one example, the following message codes may be translateddifferently based on base device 104 and/or interface device 110, or aversion of dictionary 124. Table 1 illustrates an embodiment of thisexample. TABLE 1 Message Code Dictionary Version Message 105 100 GoodMorning 105 101 Good AM 105 102 Bonjour 107 100 You are a winner 107 101U R a wnr 107 102 Vous etes un gagnant

[0036] Additionally, dictionaries 124 a,b in the dictionary database 106may be updated at any time. For example, message codes and/or messagevalues may be changed and new message codes and/or message values may beadded. Updates may be provided periodically to dictionary database 106in a number of ways, for example, by a de-localized service managementhost or server or other computing device used for the management of thedictionary database 106. Furthermore, updates may be performed on anautomated, pre-scheduled basis or in an ad hoc manner.

[0037] In addition, message code string 112 may be changed in portabledevice 102 and new message code string may be added to portable device102. Message code string may be changed or added during communicationsbetween portable device 102 and base device 104. For example, oncemessage code string 112 is composed into a message and the message isprovided to the user of portable device 102, base device 104 may updatemessage code string 112 in portable device 102 for use in futuretransactions or data exchanges. For example, if a user of portabledevice 102 has conducted a transaction, information relating to thattransaction will be included in message code string 112 as updated inportable device 102.

[0038]FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified flowchart of a process forcomposing and providing a message according to one exemplary embodimentof the present invention. The flowchart will be described with referenceto FIG. 1.

[0039] In step 200, portable device 102 couples to base device 104. Asmentioned above, portable device 102 may couple directly to base device104, through a communication medium, through an intermediate computingor networking device, etc.

[0040] In step 202, portable device 102 communicates a message codestring 112 to base device 104. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, “01 FF10 A5 02 A0 03 A6 04” is communicated to base device 104.

[0041] In step 204, base device 104 receives message code string 112. Instep 206, composer 108 then analyzes the message codes in message codestring 112 using dictionary 124 a. In analyzing the message codes,composer 108 may determine based on an administrative message code whichone or more of the dictionaries 124 a in dictionary database 106 are tobe used and using the appropriate dictionary(ies) 124 retrieve thecorresponding applicable message code values.

[0042] In step 208, composer 108 generates a message from message codestring 112. Assuming table 118 is used as dictionary 124 a, the messagegenerated from the corresponding message codes is “Smart loyaltyprogram: 3 of 5 visits to XYZ store. Earn $10 off your 6th purchase.”This assumes that the message code FF corresponds to the variable ofthree.

[0043] At step 210, the message is then provided to interface device 110for communication to a user of portable device 102. For example, themessage may be printed, displayed, or audibly communicated to the userthrough interface device 110.

[0044] In step 212, an updated message code string 116 may be providedto portable device 102. Updated message code string 116 may correspondto a message for any future communications between portable device 102and base device 104. An updated message code string 116 may beappropriate due to the recent activity or transaction conducted by theuser of portable device. The message corresponding to the updatedmessage code string 116 may also be forwarded to interface device 110for display to the user.

[0045] One example using an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention will now be described. A user is shopping in a first store andhas a portable device 102. While browsing at the first store, the userwants to find out the latest account information relating to the user'sloyalty program at the first store. To find that latest accountinformation, the user couples portable device 102 to base device 104.Consequently, message code string 112 is communicated to base device 104and a message is composed from the message code string 112 usingcomposer 108 and dictionary 124 a. The message corresponding to themessage code string 112 is displayed on interface device 110 for viewingby the user. For example, the message may say “200 additional pointswill earn you a special offer”.

[0046] Subsequently, the user decides to make a purchase at the firststore. The purchase is worth two hundred (200) points. Once again, theuser couples portable device 102 to base device 104 to complete thepurchase. Portable device 102 and base device 104 then communicate witheach other. During their communication, base device 104 sends an updatedmessage code string 116 to portable device 102. At the same time, amessage corresponding to updated message code string 116 is displayed ona screen connected to base device 104. Based on the purchase that theuser just concluded, the message may include loyalty transactioninformation indicating that the user has just received a certain numberof reward points for the purchase; the message may further include amarketing message informing the user that the reward points are validtoward special offers at a second store. For example, the message maysay “your purchase just earned you 200 points and qualifies you for aspecial offer which may be redeemed at a second store”. Additionally, areceipt may also be printed from a printer. The receipt may includesinformation relating to the loyalty program printed in a differentformat than that shown on the screen connected to base device 104.

[0047] The user then goes to a mall where the second store is located.The user may double check the message that corresponds to updatedmessage code string 116 using base device 104. Base devices 104 may belocated throughout the mall. The user then proceeds to the second storeafter reading the message and connects with base device 104 located inthe second store to find out about the special offer. Informationrelating to the special offer is specific to the second store and ismade available through base devices 104 located throughout the secondstore.

[0048] The user then proceeds to make a purchase and at checkout, againcouples portable device 102 to base device 104 located at the secondstore. Updated message code string 116 is again composed into a messageby composer 108 using dictionary 124. Based on the purchase information,the composed message indicates that the user has earned a number ofpoints on this purchase and that the special offer has been extended fora certain time period. Information relating to the purchase and theextended time period is then encoded and sent in another updated messagecode string 116 to portable device 102.

[0049] After leaving the second store, the user forgets how long theextended time period is for the special offer. The user can coupleportable device 102 to base device 104, such as, a PC reader located atthe user's home to quickly access that information on portable device102 without having to connect to the Internet. The foregoing is merelyan illustration of one of many applications that may utilize the presentinvention. A person of ordinary skill in the art will know of otherapplications in which the present invention can be deployed.

[0050] Furthermore, based on the disclosure and teachings providedherein, it will be clear to a person of ordinary skill in the art thatmany advantages are provided by various exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention. For example, messages for a consumer involved in aloyalty transaction using loyalty information pertinent to thetransaction and the consumer may be rapidly created and provided to theconsumer. A message code is included in a portable device in a verycompact form, which keeps memory requirements minimal and communicationtimes fast. Additionally, the use of the logically organized compositiondata structure for a dictionary 124 ensures rapid composition ofmessages from message codes. Also, various types of message words may beused depending on different kinds of transactions and different kinds ofinterface devices. Thus, by relying on the content of a specificdictionary 124 associated with a particular base device 104 to determinethe semantic value of the message codes, flexibility is introducedbetween different portable devices 102, base devices 104, and interfacedevices 110.

[0051] The above description is illustrative but not restrictive. Manyvariations of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in theart upon review of the disclosure. The scope of the invention should,therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description,but instead should be determined with reference to the pending claimsalong with their full scope or equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for composing a message at a base devicefor a user of a portable device using a dictionary of message codes, themessage codes having corresponding message values, the methodcomprising: receiving one or more message codes at the base device fromthe portable device; generating the message from the received one ormore message codes using corresponding message values from thedictionary; and providing the generated message to the user.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: generating the message usinginformation retrieved from the portable device.
 3. The method of claim1, further comprising: communicating one or more message codes to theportable device.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining a version for the dictionary, wherein the step of generatingthe message is performed with the determined version for the dictionary.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the received one or more message codesinclude a message code that corresponds to an administrative messagevalue; and further comprising: using the administrative message value inat least one of the step of generating the message and the step ofproviding the generated message.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein howthe generated message is provided depends on the administrative messagevalue.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the generated messagecomprises at least one of displaying the message, printing the message,and providing an audible message.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thedictionary is locally accessible to the base device.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the dictionary resides within the base device.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the method is used in a loyalty program forconveying loyalty information relating to the loyalty program to theuser.
 11. A system for generating a message for a user of a portabledevice, the system comprising: a base device configured to receive oneor more message codes from the portable device; a dictionary having aplurality of message codes associated with the base device, wherein theplurality of message codes correspond to a plurality of message words; acomposer configured to compose the message from the received one or moremessage codes using corresponding message words from the dictionary; andan interface device configured to provide the composed message to theuser.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the dictionary comprises oneor more versions.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the interfacedevice comprises a plurality of message conveying devices, wherein aversion of the dictionary is associated with a corresponding messageconveying device.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein the portabledevice comprises at least one of a smart card, a cellular phone, apersonal digital assistant, a pager, a credit card, an ATM card, adigital tablet, a security badge, and an access badge.
 15. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the base device comprises at least one of apoint-of-sale (POS) device, a cellular phone, a PDA, a computer, ahandheld specialized reader, a set-top box connected to a TV, a kiosk, asecurity system, and an access system.
 16. The system of claim 11,wherein the plurality of message words comprise semantic values.
 17. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the plurality of message words comprise atleast one of constant words, variable words, administrative words, andaction words.
 18. The system of claim 11, wherein the interface devicecomprises a display device configured to display the message.
 19. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the interface device comprises a printerconfigured to print the message.
 20. The system of claim 11, wherein theinterface device comprises an announcing device configured to announcethe message.
 21. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more messagecodes comprise a representation of information associated with theportable device.
 22. The system of claim 21, wherein the representationof information is not exclusively for generating the message.
 23. Thesystem of claim 11, the dictionary is locally accessible to the basedevice.
 24. The system of claim 11, wherein the dictionary resideswithin the base device.
 25. The system of claim 11, wherein the systemis used in a loyalty program for conveying loyalty information relatingto the loyalty program to the user.
 26. A method for providing messagingbetween a portable device and a base device, the method comprising:maintaining a message code string in the portable device, the messagecode string including one or more message codes; and communicating themessage code string to the base device; wherein the message code stringis usable to generate a message for a user using message words from oneof a plurality of dictionaries, the message words corresponding to theone or more message codes in the message code string.
 27. The method ofclaim 26, further comprising: receiving an updated message code stringin the portable device.
 28. The method of claim 26, further comprising:conveying the message to the user.
 29. The method of claim 26, furthercomprising: providing a message code in the message code stringindicating which one of the plurality of dictionaries is to be used togenerate the message.
 30. The method of claim 26, wherein the messagecode string comprises at least one of a constant code, a variable code,an administrative code, and an action code.
 31. The method of claim 30,wherein the variable code is used to represent information computedduring a transaction or information that is specific to the portabledevice, base device, or unique transaction between the portable deviceand base device.
 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the administrativecode is used to determine how the message is to be generated.
 33. Themethod of claim 30, wherein the action code is used to direct the basedevice to take a specific course of action.
 34. The method of claim 26,wherein the portable device comprises at least one of a smart card, acellular phone, a personal digital assistant, a pager, a credit card, anATM card, a digital tablet, a security badge, and an access badge.
 35. Amethod for providing messages to a user participating in a loyaltyprogram, comprising: maintaining a message code string in a portabledevice, the portable device having information identifying the user andthe loyalty program, the message code string including one or moremessage codes; upon conducting a transaction related to the loyaltyprogram, communicating the message code string from the portable deviceto a base device; and directing the base device to generate a messagebased on the message code string by using one or more of a plurality ofdictionaries, each of the plurality of dictionaries having a pluralityof message codes and their corresponding message words.
 36. The methodof claim 35 further comprising: conveying the message to the user. 37.The method of claim 35, further comprising: forwarding deviceinformation relating to the portable device to the base device; andusing the device information to generate the message.
 38. The method ofclaim 35, further comprising: inputting transactional informationrelated to the transaction into the base device; and using thetransactional information to generate the message.
 39. The method ofclaim 35, wherein the message code string includes a message codeindicating which one or more of the plurality of dictionaries are to beused to generate the message.
 40. The method of claim 35, wherein themessage code string includes at least one of a variable message code, anadministrative message code and an action message code.
 41. The methodof claim 40, wherein the variable message code is used to representinformation computed during the transaction or information that isspecific to the portable device, base device, or unique transactionbetween the portable device and the base device.
 42. The method of claim40, wherein the administrative message code is used to determine how themessage is to be generated.
 43. The method of claim 42, wherein theadministrative message code is used to identify an interface deviceconfigured to convey the generated message to the user.
 44. The methodof claim 40, wherein the action message code is used to direct the basedevice to take a specific course of action.
 45. The method of claim 44,wherein the specific course of action includes displaying the message tothe user via a graphical interface or printing the message on a receipt.46. The method of claim 35, wherein a first message code has a firstcorresponding message word in a first dictionary, and the first messagecode has a second corresponding message word in a second dictionary, thefirst and second corresponding message words being different from eachother.
 47. The method of claim 35, further comprising: upon concludingthe transaction, communicating an updated message code string to theportable device.
 48. A system for providing messages to a user,comprising: a portable device having a message code string residingtherein, the message code string including one or more message codes; adictionary database having a plurality of dictionaries, each dictionaryhaving a plurality of message codes and their corresponding messagewords; and a plurality of base devices, each base device configured to:communicate with the portable device and receive the message codestring; compose a message from the message code string usingcorresponding message words from one or more of the plurality ofdictionaries; and communicate the message to the user.
 49. The system ofclaim 48, wherein: upon conducting a transaction, the message codestring is communicated from the portable device to a selected basedevice; and the selected base device composes a message from the messagecode string using corresponding message words from one or more of theplurality of dictionaries associated with the selected base device. 50.The system of claim 49, wherein the selected base device forwards themessage to an interface device for communication to the user.
 51. Thesystem of claim 50, wherein the interface device is configured todisplay the message to the user.
 52. The system of claim 50, wherein theinterface device is configured to print the message on a receipt. 53.The system of claim 49, further comprising: upon concluding thetransaction, an updated message code string is communicated to theportable device from the selected base device.
 54. The system of claim49, wherein the message code string includes at least one of a variablemessage code, an administrative message code and an action message code.55. The system of claim 54, wherein the variable message code is used torepresent information computed during the transaction or informationthat is specific to the portable device.
 56. The system of claim 54,wherein the administrative message code is used to determine how themessage is to be generated.
 57. The system of claim 54, wherein theadministrative message code is used to identify an interface deviceconfigured to convey the generated message to the user.
 58. The systemof claim 54, wherein the administrative message code is used to identifywhich one or more of the plurality of dictionaries associated with theselected base device are to be used to generate the message.
 59. Thesystem of claim 54, wherein the action message code is used to directthe selected base device to take a specific course of action.
 60. Thesystem of claim 48, wherein the portable device comprises at least oneof a smart card, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant, apager, a credit card, an ATM card, a digital tablet, a security badge,and an access badge.
 61. The system of claim 48, wherein the pluralityof base devices comprise at least one of a point-of-sale (POS) device, acellular phone, a PDA, a computer, a handheld specialized reader, aset-top box connected to a TV, a kiosk, a security system, and an accesssystem.